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Luxury Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch Passes Through Strait of Hormuz

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Notes and Essays -- John Brown, The New York Times The Nord, anchored off Hong Kong in 2022. In that year, the U.S. State Department publicly raised concerns after Hong Kong said it would not seize the vessel. Credit... Reuters Luxury Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch Passes  Through Strait of Hormuz May 01, 2026 Mr. Mordashov, 60, is the chairman and main stakeholder of Severstal, one of Russia’s biggest steel makers. Shipping records show that the Nord is registered to Yurkon, a Russian firm that Mr. Mordashov’s wife, Marina A. Mordashova, owned for a brief period in 2022. ...  Like most Russian oligarchs, Mr. Mordashov is loyal to Mr. Putin, and he and his wife are under sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When the Nord anchored in waters off Hong Kong in 2022, the authorities there said they would not seize it, prompting the U.S. State Department to raise concerns about the “possible use of Hong Kong as...
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John Mearsheimer, the not-so-realistic ‘realist,’ embarrasses himself again on Russia

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By Alexander J. Motyl, opinion contributor, The Hill 05/15/25 10:30 AM ET see also The Hill's Headlines — May 1, 2026  The editors of Switzerland’s leading newspaper, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, knew they had a terrific headline when political scientist John Mearsheimer said, “I would have done the same as Putin. I would have attacked Ukraine even earlier.” As the paper no doubt realized, the controversy-loving University of Chicago professor had made an outrageous statement even by his own standards. It’s one thing to accuse the West of provoking Russia’s illegitimate president to invade Ukraine in defense of Russia’s strategic interests.  It’s a whole different ball game actually to endorse Putin’s invasion by associating oneself with it so clearly and openly. In effect, Mearsheimer has justified and legitimized Putin’s war and genocide, thereby making himself complicit in the Russian dictator’s crimes. This is where Mearsheimer’s brand of so-called geopolitical “realism”...
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How Zelensky ran out of patience with Trump — and what it means for US-Ukraine relations

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April 30, 2026 8:18 PM 8 min read Politics by  Tim Zadorozhnyy Listen to this article or download for later 11 min This audio is created with AI assistanc e In just two months, President Volodymyr Zelensky shifted from being the first world leader to back a U.S. military operation in the Middle East to openly criticizing Washington's foreign policy. The noticeable change of tone came at a moment when Ukraine and the U.S. have once again reached a difficult impasse in bilateral relations, with Washington consumed by its war against Iran and the fragile diplomacy surrounding a possible settlement. Washington's public messaging, weapons uncertainty, and what Ukrainian officials describe as broken promises are fueling frustration in Kyiv, according to three people familiar with the matter.   "It's clear who we're dealing with… there are objectively difficult situations that don't foster a positive atmosphere," one senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv ...
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